About 120 participants from 20 countries attended the CMWS DAYS 2023 from 21-24 February to discuss the key challenges in molecular water research and the status and future of the Centre for Molecular Water Science (CMWS). (Photo: DESY, Marta Mayer)
In the envisioned Centre for Molecular Water Science (CMWS), experts from DESY and several cooperation partners will come together to work on the following topics: Fundamental properties of water, water in geophysics, climate and environment, water in energy research and technology, real-time chemical dynamics, water in biochemical and biological function as well as theory and simulations.
The research objectives are closely linked to current developments of the photon sources in Hamburg. In 2018, two CMWS workshops took place at DESY to define a first draft of the research programme. The DESY WATER WEEK 2020 followed these workshops. Following that, the partners of the network met online at the CMWS DAYS 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The plan of an interdisciplinary centre focusing on the molecular properties of water has found wide-spread interest in the international science community: DESY received more than 51 Letters of Intent of potential partners. The early science programme in the form of a virtual laboratory started in 2019 with 10 projects. Another 10 projects of the second round of the early science programme start within 2021. In 2022, the 3rd call for the Scientific program was opened to fund PhD and postdoctoral projects in collaboration with an external partner.
The CMWS consortium has developed a science progamme centered around five strategic research pillars:
• Fundamental Properties of Water
• Water in Climate-, Astro-, and Geo-Sciences
• Water in Energy Research and Technology
• Real-Time Chemical Dynamics
• Water in the Molecular Life Sciences
The CMWS White Paper describes in detail the scientific agenda of the Centre.
Contact persons: Claudia Goy, Melanie Schnell
E-mail: cmws@desy.de
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